Conkwest raises $50 million

Patrick Soon-Shiong's NantWorks LLC (Los Angeles, Calif.) made a $48 million equity investment in Conkwest Inc. (Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Calif.). Conkwest also named Soon-Shiong co-chairman of its board, alongside executive co-chairman Steve Gorlin.

Sorrento Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:SRNE), which partnered with Conkwest earlier this month, invested $2 million in a separate private placement. The companies are developing off-the-shelf cancer immunotherapies called CAR-TNKs that incorporate Conkwest's Neukoplast cell-line platform and Sorrento's G-MAB human antibody technology. Sorrento previously made an $8 million equity investment in Conkwest concurrently with the partnership. ...